Car coupling



l l Jan. 5 ,1926.

P. MCDONALD CAR COUPLING Filed May 26, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 5

P. MCDONALD CAR COUPLING Filed May 26, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V i the couplings in common' use.

Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

- -sUNiTED STATES n 1,568,618 PATENT oFrllcE.

l PATRICK mDoNaLp, or wEs'rvILLnjILLINoIs.

'7, (can. coUPLINo.

Application led May26, 1923. Serial No. 641,788. f

To all w-wmt-may concern.'

Y' Be it known that I, PATRioK MoDoNALD, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, and .resident of Westville, in the county of Vermilion and Stateiof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Couplings, of which the following isra specification. .This iinventi'on relates tocar couplings and while not limited thereto relates more f Another'object Vis to. provide a ,coupling that wil-l not Ybecome engagedor'disengaged while thek cars are in motion, since its parts must bemanually operated before these functions can be performed.; Y- 1 t v A furtherobject is to provide a semi-rigid coupling which will preventaderailments caused by jerking ofthe more flexible couplings n'ow in use. Y

A still further object is to provide a coupling having the novel arrangement, construc- -tion and combination of parts hereinafter describedl and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Y

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the coupling members.

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation of coupling members. n

Figure 3 is an end elevation taken on the line III-III of Figure 2, showing the manually operated mechanism for actuating the draw bar latch.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numerals 2 and 3 designate the housing` members of my improved coupling,-

which are adapted to be secured to the under side of two cars A and B, the ends of which are in abutting position. f

The housing 2 has across bar or web 4 which is provided withV a central aperture 4a for the reception of a draw bar 5. The draw bar 5 is of slightly less diameter than the aperture 4 and passes freely through the same. Due to the diameter of the bar 5 being less than the aperture- 4, the bar 5 has a limited lateral or swin ing movement.

A coupling head 6 'is rigi ly mounted on the forward end of the draw bar5 andis provided with a latch. bar l7 adapted tol move verticallyirelative l'to the head. The bar 7 is .providedwith-a. vertically disposed bolt 8 which extends upwardly through the coup.-

lingfhead 6 and hasits upper end terminating inA an eye-9 which has al link 10 mounted therein.` The bolt 8 and linklOfformmeans ltoV be grasped byfithe operatorwto lift the latch bar 7 nal movement ofthe bar in' either. direction and thus resiliently cushion the movements of the bar. The spring 11' isfmounted bebetweenk a follower 14.whi'chabuts`the; rear Y p' .Alpair of spring-s 11 and 12 Aare ymounted v on, the bar 5 adapted to oppose'the longitudiend of the couplingl head 6 and the web 3 and i o opposes the rearward movement of the bar 5 while the spring 12-is mounted betweenthe web 3 and a follower .15 held in position by a nut 16 screwedlon' the rear end of the bar Y. 5, and serves to oppose the for'wardymove-k ment of the barg n A housing41181is slidablymountedin the i draw gheadwf3y and lis `provided onits forward the inclined face 20 of the head 19 serves asy a lifting cam to force the bar 7 upwardly, thereby causing it to ride over the head 19.

The draw bar 18 isin the form 0f a link. That is, it has anvelongated central opening or slot 22 therein and a bolt or pin v23 is mounted in the Ahousing 3 and extends through the slot 22 to limit the longitudinal movement of the bar 18. The pin 23 also serves to transmit the pulling stress directly to the housing 3.

The draw bar 18 is adapted to be normally retracted to a position within the housing 3 when uncoupled, and is provided with suitable mechanism for holding it in this p0si` tion and for forcing it out of the housing to permit it to enter 4the coupling head 6 on draw barf.

VThe rear end of the draw bar 18 is connected by a'link 25 to Va crank arm 26 secured to an 'operating shaft 27 journ'aled in bearings 28 secured on the bottom of the car lB. Suitable hand cranks 29 are secured on the opposite ends ofthe Shaft 27 to permit manual rotation thereof, and yrotation of the shaft 27 will serve to reciprocate the draw bar 18 longitudinally of the housing 3.

A coil spring 30 is mounted on the shaft 27 and has one end secured to the shaft and its other end secured to the adjacent bearing 28 so that rotation of the shaft in a clockwise direction to move the draw bar out of the housing 3, into a coupling position, will serve to tension the spring 30, thus causing suflicient tension on the spring to cause the shaft 27 to automatically return to its normal position when the crank handles 29 are released, 'unless the draw bar latch head 19 is engaged with the latch bar 7.

' Assuming that it is desired to couple the two cars AV and B, one of the crank handles '29'will be grasped by the operator and the Ashaft 27 rotated clockwise to force the draw bar 18 out of the housing 3. The cars will then be moved toward each other until the latch head 19 of the bar 18 is forced under the latch bar 7 in coupling head 6, which latch bar will automatically fall into locking position and prevent withdrawal of the draw bar 18.v

When it is desiredV touncouple the cars lthe operato-r will grasp the link 10 secured scope of my invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:-

A coupler comprising a housing, a draw bar mounted in said housing and adapted to move longitudinally thereof, said draw bar being provided with a longitudinal slot, a rigid pin secured in said housing and passing through said slot and adapted to cooperate with said slot to limit the movement of said draw bar, an operating shaft connected to said draw bar by suitable crank and link mechanism, so that rotation of said shaft will move said draw bar longitudinally relative to said housing, fixed bearings for said shaft, a coil spring mounted on said shaft and having its one end secured to said shaft and its other end secured to one of said fixed bearings, so that rotation of said shaft to move said draw bar out of said housing into coupling position will tension said spring sufficiently to cause -an automatic return of said draw bar and shaft when said draw bar is released from coupling'position, and an upwardly projecting latching head on the forward end of said draw bar, said latching head having a downwardly inclined or beveled forward face so as to cause said head to be forced under and Yto `automatically engage with `the latch bar of. a mating coupler when said draw bar is moved forward so as to project beyond the forward end of its housing.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

PATRICK MCDONALD. 

